BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has denied a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 10 conservation groups that would have lifted endangered species protections for wolves in Montana and Idaho.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula on Saturday rejected the agreement that could have led to public hunting of some 1,300 wolves in the two states.
Molloy in the 24-page decision cited the court's lack of authority to put part of an endangered species population under state management and expose that population to hunting.
He also says he can't approve the settlement proposed in March because not all the parties involved in the case agreed with it.

- It would be great if they used a panel of judges that have different views of the situation instead of Judge Malloy who is doing his best to keep the wolf-lovers happy

6mm Remington

04-09-2011, 06:16 PM

I've been watching for his decision but I must have missed it. This is pretty sad as it is nothing but politics! These folks are thinking with and making decisions on emotions as well and not science based facts. Let the experts manage the wolves and keep Judge Molloy and the rest of his group out of the picture!

xtreme

04-09-2011, 06:29 PM

This was predictable with this judge. I don't know of any decision he has ever made in favor of common sense.

mntnguide

04-09-2011, 06:50 PM

The only one he made was allowing us to hunt them in Idaho and Montana 2 seasons ago. Being that it was successful, he realized his hope of it being a failure was wrong, so now he must make sure it doesnt happen again... Its ridiculous that one man can stop the successful wildlife control of an entire region even though he personally has absolutely no clue about what is truly going on.

Tried to write a comment but am at a loss for words..Actions speak louder anyway..

sticknbiggens

04-10-2011, 12:07 PM

Do you think Judge Malloy lives a normal life and walks the streets of the town he resides in? Would seem to me if I was making some of the Decisions this clown was making that I would be scared to show my face in puplic.

Jerry

04-10-2011, 12:23 PM

Do you think Judge Malloy lives a normal life and walks the streets of the town he resides in? Would seem to me if I was making some of the Decisions this clown was making that I would be scared to show my face in puplic.
Self righteous, self serving people like this walk around proud of themselves, knowing they are better and smarter than everyone else! I don't know how we let our courts get filled with jay birds like this!

mntnguide

04-10-2011, 12:36 PM

Oh he walks proud as heck, the city he lives in is one of the heaviest supporting cities of pro-wolves...Missoula, MT. Most people I know up there in MT refuse to claim that city as one of their own..

wolftalonID

04-10-2011, 04:40 PM

Dont worry guys, the budget bill that just got passed, has a wolf ridder on it. They are officially delisted by congress as soon as this budget bill gets published this week into law!!!! SO Malloy can go sit on a canine tooth for all we care now!!! WHOOOO HOOOO!!! Got to love Idaho politics!!!

bullelk

04-10-2011, 08:23 PM

Malloy was appointed by Fast Willie Clinton. Federal judges are appointed for life. what a farce.

muleyhunter92

04-11-2011, 09:55 AM

Are you being serious wolftalonID? Hope you are, sick of this clown show!

WASHINGTON — Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson got his rider delisting wolves in Idaho and Montana into the budget bill that prevented the government shutdown Friday.
And it came just in time.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula rejected a settlement between 10 environmental groups and the Obama administration that would have removed wolves from the endangered-species list and allowed Idaho and Montana to resume state management of wolf populations — which included hunting seasons.
“Molloy’s ruling demonstrates why Congressman Simpson’s language is so necessary to address this issue for the West,” said Nikki Watts, Simpson’s press secretary.
Simpson, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, had included the wolf provision in the original House budget resolution that ended up being negotiated in the long talks between the House and the Senate that ended Friday.
Simpson’s original wolf provision would reinstate the 2009 decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the gray wolf in Idaho and Montana. But the new language — and the final budget resolution bill — won’t be finished until later this week.
Malloy’s 24-page decision Saturday said he did not have authority to return wolves to Idaho and Montana state management in part because all 13 groups that sued did not agree to the settlement.
The developments threw environmentalists for a loop. They had supported the settlement to relieve the pressure from angry hunters and state officials who say the Rocky Mountain wolf population is recovered. They didn’t want to set a precedent of having Congress remove wolves from the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act.
“Congressional leaders should put this forth as a stand-alone bill if they want to undercut one of the foundations of American environmental law, rather than sneaking it through the back door,” said Andrew Wexler, Director of Natural Resource Defense Council’s Wildlife Conservation Program.
The proposed settlement had effectively asked Molloy to reverse his previous rulings. Last August he faulted the Fish and Wildlife Service for a 2009 decision that took wolves off the endangered list in Montana and Idaho but not neighboring Wyoming. He also said decisions on the Endangered Species Act should be based on science and not on political boundaries, such as state lines.
The federal government appealed that decision, leading to the proposed settlement agreement that has now been rejected.
“I can’t blame Molloy for the ruling,” said Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the 10 conservation groups favoring the settlement. “It’s a very tortuous situation. We entered into a settlement agreement we didn’t love but thought it was the lesser of two evils.”
Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester had supported language similar to Simpson’s, and his support helped it stay in the final budget deal.
“This wolf fix isn’t about one party’s agenda,” Tester said. “It’s about what’s right for Montana and the West — which is why I’ve been working so hard to get this solution passed, and why it has support from all sides.”

mntnguide

04-11-2011, 11:10 AM

Hopefully once again when we see something like this....
836

It will turn into a picture like this...
837

wolftalonID

04-11-2011, 12:01 PM

Yes of coarse I was serious. Im the one that takes this the most serious of anyone I know. I have had my hands in the political ring of wolf issues going on in Idaho for two years now, and have had many successful calls with SFW, IFG, and many involved politicians in Idaho that have helped to get us this far.
Besides that, we dont need to coerce our Gov at all, he has our backs far ahead of anything we want, he just has to play it politically correct in order to get it done the right way for us.

There will be a hunt this year now....:) I Can not wait...so excited.

llp

04-11-2011, 02:14 PM

It would be fantastic news if the wolf delisting was included inthe budget bill. I could even stomach the ptitiful attempt to reign in government spending if this rider was included.
I don't have any reason to disbelieve the above posts. There have been so many twists in this wolf battle I am just afraid to celebrate to soon.
llp

Futboler

04-11-2011, 02:45 PM

Llp....I'm right there with you. Barefooted, granola-packing conservationists always find a way to screw it up. We'll pass the whiskey when we have a couple hundred less wolves in the Rocky Mountain ecosystem.

elktracker

04-11-2011, 05:39 PM

I'm skeptical as well llp and Futboler, I hope that nothing screws it up. If it does happen then congrats to ID and MT! Have fun with your wolf hunt, wish they would have included WY on the bill so we could all have a hunt this year. Guess that is what we get for being bullheaded and holding out put wolves in the same category as coyotes in most of the state.

BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has denied a proposed settlement agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 10 conservation groups that would have lifted endangered species protections for wolves in Montana and Idaho.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula on Saturday rejected the agreement that could have led to public hunting of some 1,300 wolves in the two states.
Molloy in the 24-page decision cited the court's lack of authority to put part of an endangered species population under state management and expose that population to hunting.
He also says he can't approve the settlement proposed in March because not all the parties involved in the case agreed with it.

- It would be great if they used a panel of judges that have different views of the situation instead of Judge Malloy who is doing his best to keep the wolf-lovers happy

Molloy will be over turned. The wolf lovers are going to lose to congress in the near future.